I've been using word pocessing professionally for writing and publishing for over 25 years.

First I used WordPerfect 5 dos then windows. Then I moved completely to Puppy around 2006. Tried Abiword - inferior then and apparently still is. Used WordPerfect with Win 2000 Virtualbox for a time awkwordly. Got used to OpenOffice Write, finally painfully abandoning WorfPerfect. Then came LibreOffice, which is where I am probably for the duration. Currently v. 3.64.

LibreOffice is large, but it's in /mnt/home in my frugal PreciseNop and I still have small bulletproof save files. Updating is easy. I also moved the .config file to /mnt/home so (with spell dictionary, etc.) that remains current for whatever save file I use. (Same approach with Opera). After the first run LibreOffice is FAST.

Of course I was interested in and tried FreeOffice. Yes, it's relatvely small but limited compared to LibreOffice. And I hate the introduction of another set of file types. LibreOffice and FreeOffice play awkwardly together (in my experience, but who would want both?). LibreOffice is open and maintained.

If I were a developer, I'd fork LibreOffice Writer into a single program separate from the other components in the office suite and make it independent from Java. It'd become a smaller word processor with more stability and functions than Abiword. _________________Puppy Linux en español

Yes, there is. After registration I received an email message with my serial number and download links including 32bit and 64bit, .rpm and .deb packages.

Thanks I must have missed that.

Another download coming up.

Well I downloaded the 64bit deb version and guess what, all the binaries are 32bit and wouldn't run on Fatdog. I tried it in Dpup Exprimo, it worked but the menu entry graphics are pretty crappy. It may be smaller than LibreOffice but it won't take it's place here._________________Software <-> Distros <-> Tips <-> Newsletters

If I were a developer, I'd ......make it independent from Java. It'd become a smaller word processor with more stability and functions than Abiword.

Yes, good point. That's the other reason I gave up on Libreoffice - kept getting java errors and didn't see any reason for the Java, given that I wasn't using database functions. I don't feel that Java is safe, so why have it unless you absolutely need it?

Henry's earlier comment had me reminiscing about WP5.1/DOS. Curse the loss of the "Reveal Codes" function, with subsequent word processors following the style-over-substance format route of MS Office. I regret not having looked at SMO's Function Key allocation more closely - just found a wealth of features - such as options to hide the toolbars to have SMO look pretty similar to the popular FocusWriter, it appears to me. There are plenty of options to modify the F-keys with Atl/Shift/Ctrl combos with personalised keyboard mapping shortcuts, so I guess I could emulate my ol' WordPerfect, to a degree (e.g., http://studymore.org.uk/wp51.htm).
Smokey01 has a good point - the menu dialogue text and icons are a bit grainy, and I haven't found how to customise that to my liking. SMO2008 I think had a good dialog font like Arial or Sans Serif, but since SMO2010 have opted for a dot-matrix type of font, for unknown reasons. Hasn't been a show-stopper for me, though I would like to see an option to change this. Perhaps via GTK theme preferences ("Linux (system)" under Tools>Options>Appearance>Dialog style), if SMO can find Puppy's GTK libraries automatically? Am I just dreaming?
Hmmm I think TextMaker2008 also had a "open at last working point" feature that was very useful for working intermittently on large documents. Nowadays when you resume to work on such a document, you open at the start of page1. I think that SoftMaker are working to restore this in SMO2012+, but if it could be default (or selectable) in Puppy FreeOffice, it would be a big plus I think._________________What I get up to when I'm not on the Puppy Linux Murga forum:
http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EMQxfgYAAAAJ

Puppyt brings up an excellent point about TM's ability to open the document at the place where you last typed. I can't recall that being available on any SM desktop--I've only seen it on TM on my Android phone and Windows Mobile.

Softmaker on WinMo is absolutely first-rate, a desktop replica, while TM on Android doesn't impress me much; in fact, I use QuickOffice, which is also limited but has better zoom and other things.

My problem with Softmaker on Linux is that it is resource-hungry--you get a significant bump in cpu use and temperature rise.

Even running puppy 4.32 on an aging Vaio Picturebook with 114mb RAM, Wine/MS Word 97 runs at a lower cost than an SM 2008 sfs.

I find the same SM resource issue in Lubuntu 12.04, and on Lubuntu as well, I run MS Word 97, still the best word processor IMHO with regard to ability vs resource.

When a user can run Wine, then a program within Wine, and still get better cpu/temp response than a straight-up Linux program, well, I'm not a developer, but something's up.

I just installed the Windows version of Softmaker FreeOffice on my Windows computer. I opened two docx files, one with figures and one with a table containing double lines. Not all figures showed, and the double lines became single lines. I would judge the conversion better then LibreOffice, but still not correct. It then becomes necessary to double-check every critical document on a computer with Microsoft Office, which is what I would like to be able to avoid. It is still good that they are trying, but too bad it does not work completely. However, even with its flaws, it MAY be the best MS Office alternative available, and as such a good candidate for Puppy inclusion.

Please note that I have not tested the software any further than by opening those two files (I am always on the lookout for a Linux software that opens MS Office documents perfectly).

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou cannot attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum